


No Champagne

by pkmntrainer_alex



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25023946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pkmntrainer_alex/pseuds/pkmntrainer_alex
Summary: Gild Tesoro wakes up from a bad dream to a very different reality.
Relationships: Gild Tesoro/Stella
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	No Champagne

The bedroom is cleaner than Tesoro remembers it.

Cleaner, brighter, with a wide-open airy feeling. Blinking sleepily, he can see open doors leading onto a balcony. The breeze is blowing curtains of pale gold into the room, and outside, he can see the lights of Gran Tesoro, glittering a ways down even in the daylight. The sunlight that peeks into the room glitters when it hits the crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the ceiling, throwing chips of rainbow over every surface, and Tesoro feels his perplexion increasing the more awake he becomes.

_ “That...can’t be right.” _ Even barely awake as he is, slowly propping himself upright, Tesoro knows he can’t possibly be home. Not after...well, after everything. His thoughts are confused, muddied, and the satin sheets slide over his bare chest as he tries to sit up. 

Pale, slender arms wrap around one of his, urging him back down. “Not yet,” a soft voice pleaded. “We don’t need to get up yet.” 

That voice. It can’t be that voice, and it can’t be that person. Certain that his ears were tricking him - just as his eyes were tricking him by making him believe he was home - Tesoro turned his head slowly, glancing down at the person he hadn’t realized was in bed beside him. He saw her soft arms, her light orange hair strewn across the pillow, and all he could think was,  _ “How are you even smaller than I remember you being?” _

“Stella.” It couldn’t be real, but as Tesoro brushes a hand to her face, sweeping her hair free, she feels more than real. Her cheek is warm to the touch, and she looked up at him with those beautiful blue eyes he saw every time he fell asleep. The delicate lace strap of her nightgown slipped down a shoulder as she clung to him, and Tesoro gently pulled it back in place. She was warm against his fingertips, and she smiled as she nuzzled her head against his arm. “Stella. I. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

She laughed - it made Tesoro’s chest constrict painfully, but it was such a  _ joyful _ feeling. No laughs were ever more precious to him than hers. “I’ve been awake. I just didn’t want to get up yet. These are my special moments with  _ you,”  _ Stella planted a gentle kiss on his arm, loosening her grip on him and sliding back down onto her thick, cream-colored pillows. “You, me, and nobody else.”

“You get as many of these exact moments as you want.” Tesoro laid back down in their large bed, feeling his tall frame settling into the warmth of the tangled blankets and sheets, turning on his side to wrap his arms around Stella. She slips against him with a sigh, and rests perfectly against his chest. Her nightgown is silky against his skin, and he can feel her warmth through the fabric. “We can spend the whole day here. The whole week. Baccarat and Tanaka can be in charge. I don’t need to make appearances. I belong here with  _ you.” _

Stella leaned her head back, smiling up at him - that wide smile that forced her eyes closed - and he quickly craned his head forward, pressing his lips to hers. It’s better than he remembers, teasing the air from his lungs as their mouths meld together, and he holds her tightly, protectively, in his arms. Her smell and taste is  _ her _ , uniquely hers, and in so many years, Tesoro had never found anything or anyone else that came close. 

_ “I will stay here with you forever, if that would make you happy.” _

When they break their kiss, Stella plants another small kiss on his cheek. “If you’re comfortable leaving them in charge...you’re in charge, so why shouldn’t you?” She paused for a moment, and added, “but...if we could, ah... _ not _ have Tanaka pop up through our floor or through our walls at any point...I would appreciate that.”

“Anything you want.” Tesoro can’t recall having ever said that phrase and meaning it more. “We can stay here. We can have food brought here - anything. Steak, lobster, champagne -”

Again, Stella laughs, and Tesoro feels tears pricking at his eyes as he feels the vibrations from his laughter. It had all been some horrible dream, everything - and now here he was with her, the two of them, precisely as they were meant to be. “No, my love, no champagne - remember?”

“No champagne?” Tesoro repeated the question, struggling to remember - but it’s as if everything from when his nightmare ended until right then was a blur.

Stella gently took his hands in hers, bringing them further down her body, from right around her ribs to her belly. She sets them there, resting his open palms against her, where Tesoro can feel the smallest beginning of a swell. Giggling softly, she tilts her head back and kisses him again, as Tesoro’s words fail him.

“No champagne, sweetest love. Not for another few months.”

**Author's Note:**

> \- I keep seeing Stella depicted as having hair that ranges from a medium orange to straight blonde - I deferred to the wiki on this one to be safe


End file.
